Phoenix
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March 1946
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"I heard you kids were looking for a boat" the old man said, "The years weren't kind to me, especially the Great War."
He stared deeply into Matteo's eyes, and the old man eye's softened.
"That War was meant to be so you never had to see one, I'm sorry kiddo" He said, pulling the young giant into an embrace.
"There's nothing to forgive, there's gotta be someone to keep the peace" Matteo said, and that might be the first time Hayden saw him shed a tear.
Hayden counted out the cash and they clambered onto the ship, Matteo throwing a salute at the old man, who they never saw again. The engines started for the first time in a decade, roaring to life as a new adventure started for it, and her new skeleton crew. They sailed for Thunder Bay under the red morning sky.
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Somewhere on Lake Huron
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The sea crashed against the tiny hull and for a moment, Matteo was back in the Philippine Sea. Planes that weren't there screamed over his head, firing bullets that never hit, dropping bombs that nobody else could see. He shot up from the cot, falling out of the tiny thing, creating a massive crash, and thanks to Lady Luck, nothing broke.
"Night terror?" Hayden yelled from the bridge.
"I'm fine!" Matteo yelled back.
"Since your up grab a rod, seas gentle enough to catch something."
Matteo crawled onto the deck, rubbing sleep from his eyes, baiting a hook and throwing a line, and like clockwork, he pulled a muskie from the ocean.
"It's like you talk to them fish" Hayden commented
"Maybe you just ugly enough they run away" Matteo chuckled, pulling a second fish from the water.
Another ship pulled up beside them, Carlson-Martinez Emblazoned upon the hull.
"You're some fast little shitheads, tell you that" A man upon the taller deck yelled down. "I'll tell you what, we could use our own tugboat."
Matteo's rifle cutting his blond hair changed his mind.
"Have it your way then Dago!" He yelled scrambling for any semblance of cover.
The ship ran like a wounded dog from a big man and his rifle. Matteo began making his catch into lunch.
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Several hours later
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The sea raged beneath them, as if God himself had come to sink them and the clouds let their winds blow faster than any plane in the sky could ever hope to achieve. But the little boat was long from giving up and so was her crew. The battled the elements as valiantly as Matteo's Roman forefathers, dragging the little ship back on course to the nearest port.
"She'll hold big man!"
The ship reared like a wild mustang, throwing Hayden across the bridge.
"Urk!" Hayden began to throw up his Muskie lunch.
Matteo drug himself across the deck to try and help Hayden. Deflecting debris, he huddled over his small friend.
"Yous gonna be okay, I'm here, and ain't nothing tougher than us." Matteo said, more to himself than Hayden, who had fainted. The ship slammed into something solid, and they reared up for the last time that night.
"Oh my Lord, are you two all right?" A tiny redhead in a heavy coat asked, scrambling up the side of the ship.
"Fine and dandy, Hayden here's ju-"
"Don't get sarcastic with me, even I know that storm must have you two hurting, just come with me!" she commanded.
"A little tired" Matteo finished, too tired to really argue.
She dragged them into her fittingly small home, Matteo hitting his head on the roof.
"Just sit down, I'll get you something to eat, you're probably starving" she said, and the giant fell to the floor like a sack of bricks.
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The next morning, at 5:30 AM
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Matteo woke up in a tiny room of a tiny house, with a tiny woman watching dutifully over him, a 5'2" sentinel.
"Thanks for helping me and my friend, ki-"
"IM TWENTY-THREE" The tiny woman bellowed, louder than one thought her small lungs could manage.
"Sorry ma'am, what do we owe you?"
"Just stop by sometime, I'd love to hear your stories anytime." She said, gazing expectantly at the young sailor.
Matteo felt a sinking feeling as he pushed his ship back into the water with excruciating effort. Hayden was quick to follow after that work was done.
"We actually going back?" Hayden asked, his voice exhausted.
"Of course"
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Thunder Bay
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"So we can carry 12 Ks, and the minimum you'll do is five tons, so we're there" Hayden said frustrated with the man, shoving the contract from his uncle in the supervisor's face.
"I said I won't sell you less than ten tons, and you know I don't do storage" He said.
"The contr-"
'FUCK YO- UFGH!" His sentence was cut short by Matteo's hand on his throat.
"Six Tons, half price, or you go POP!" he grumbled.
In the tiniest voice "You got a deal" came from the supervisor's lips
The iron that was loaded was terrible, even Matteo knew that, but it was a haul, and that's what mattered.
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Detroit Harbor
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The ship rocked gently that morning as we pulled into port, beside us the Carlson-Martinez barreled past us, loaded with taconite.
"Bastards seem to have a good load" Hayden grumbled, rolling a cigar between his fingers. "They're slower than us, I don't get it"
Packing his pipe with tobacco Matteo said, "Inside deals, I'll bet."
"What, did the Japs have freighters?" Hayden retorted.
"None I couldn't sink." Matteo chuckled, taking a puff.
The two rocked with their ship as they were unloaded.
"Ere's ya check" a burly ginger begrudgingly said, handing them their check.
"He's shorting us" Matteo whispered
"Hes paying us" Hayden whispered back
They prepared to make way for their homeport in Toledo. With a great effort Matteo hoists the chain onto his shoulders and pulled the anchor from the mud of the harbor.
"It'll never get lighter!" Hayden yells, starting the engine.
"Your wife wont never either!" Matteo responded.
"Go soak your head!" Hayden finished.
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Halfway to Toledo
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The Carlson-Martinez caught up to our cruise, going at their maximum speed, maneuvering to get as close to us as possible. Standing above the taller crew deck were men armed with paint buckets.
"Fuck up may hair again Dago!" The captain screamed, throwing a bucket of paint onto the hull. His crew quickly followed his example jeering and yelling insults, throwing more buckets at the Mule, and Matteo was quick to reply with his Garand, getting the captains head, and making them run like mad.
"I didn't miss that time" Matteo spoke, his usual warmth gone from his voice.
"How do we clean this up?" Hayden frantically asked.
"Some paint remover will do, but I like it, looks like that old immortal firey bird." Matteo responded.
"A Pheonix?" Hayden asked, "But what about the man you shot?"
"A Pheonix yeah" Matteo said, grabbing a cracker.